Name:_______________________________ Period: ________

Sonnet 130 (My mistress’ eyes ….)

By William Shakespeare
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know

That music hath a far more pleasing sound;

I grant I never saw a goddess go;

My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

As any she belied with false compare.

 Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

Sonnet 130 (My mistress’ eyes ….)

By William Shakespeare
Directions: Work to paraphrase the poem into its literal meaning, identify the
examples of figurative language and/or poetic devices, and determine the tone
of the poem and the poem’s theme.

How to analyze figurative language:

1. Identify and state the type of figurative language is being used.
(Simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, or alliteration)
2. Explain why it is an example of that device. If it is a comparison,
include both the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor is the subject of the comparison, the vehicle is
the image or idea that represents the subject.
3. Explain the idea the writer is expressing through the language. Don’t just define the term,
explain how and why it is used.

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Lines 1-4 (Vocabulary): Define the following:
Mistress:
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
Coral:
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

Label the rhyme scheme: Dun:

Line 1: Line 1:
What is the figurative language used? In Shakespeare’s time, the word mistress was
usually used as a term of endearment, like “my
love.” How does this definition add to your
Tenor: Vehicle: understanding of the comparison?

What is the effect of this comparison?

Line 4 (Figurative Language): Lines 1-4:

Type of figurative language: How are the first two lines different from the last
two in this stanza? Consider what the speaker
Tenor: Vehicle: says about the “mistress.”

What is the effect of this comparison?

 Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

I have seen roses damasked, red and white, Lines 5-8 (Vocabulary): Define the following:
But no such roses see I in her cheeks; Damasked:
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. Reeks:

Label the rhyme scheme:

Lines 1-8:
What six complaints the speaker has made about his “mistress” thus far:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Line 8 (Connotations): Lines 5-8:

In Shakespeare’s time, the word reeks didn’t have The speaker is not always the poet. Who could the
the negative connotation that it does today. How speaker be?
does this change your understanding of the line?

To whom could the speaker be talking to?

What is the tone of the poem up to this point? Explain.

 Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know Lines 9-12 (Vocabulary): Define the following:
Grant:
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
Goddess:
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.

Label the rhyme scheme: Treads:

Lines 9-12: Line 11 (Figurative Language):

How is the speaker being a bit nicer in these lines? What is the figurative language used?
Give an example.

Where?

What is the effect?

Lines 9-12:
What two critical statements does he make about his “mistress”?
1.

2.

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare Line 14 (Vocabulary): Define the following:
As any she belied with false compare.
Belied:
Label the rhyme scheme:

Line 13: Lines 13-14:

Where does the Volta occur? How do you know? Type of figurative language:

Tenor: Vehicle:

What is the effect of this comparison?

 Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

The poem overall

Who or what is the subject of this poem?

Who is the speaker of the poem? Remember, the speaker of the poem is not always the poet.

Pick two tone adjectives to describe the speaker’s attitude towards the subject.

Identify the poem’s central theme. What is the purpose of the poem overall? What is Shakespeare
suggesting about life?

Why do you think the poet only describes the physical features of his mistress? Nothing is written to
describe her personality. Why do you think this is?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, how would you rate this sonnet as a love poem? Explain.

If the order of the poem’s lines were reversed and the speaker started by telling the mistress he loves her,
before mentioning the negative points, how would this change your view of the poem?
 Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

Sonnet 130 Answer Key

Quatrain 1: ABAB
Lines 1-4 Vocabulary: Mistress= a woman in charge of the household or a woman having an
extramarital relationship, Dun= greyish brown (often used to describe horses), Coral= a hard stony
substance secreted by certain marine coelenterates as an external skeleton, typically forming large reefs
in warm seas, usually red or pinkish
Line 1: Simile, Tenor= mistress’ eyes Vehicle= sun. This comparison suggests the mistress’ eyes don’t
shine like the sun and are not bright.
Line 1: The definition in Shakespeare’s time makes us think this poem isn’t completely as negative as it
seems
Line 4: Metaphor, Tenor= hair Vehicle= wires. The comparison suggests the mistress’ hair is not soft but
rather unruly. Some scholars have used this to argue that the mistress is of African descent, but it has not
been proved.
Line 4: The first two lines focus on what the mistress isn’t, whereas the second two focus on what the
mistress is.

Quatrain 2: CDCD
Lines 5-8 Vocab: Demasked= decorate with or as if with a mixed colored pattern, Reeks= stinks, smells
Lines 1-8: Mistress’ eyes don’t shine, hair is not smooth and soft, breasts are dull and ugly colored, her
lips aren’t red, her cheeks aren’t rosy, and her breath doesn’t smell good.
Line 8: While what the speaker is saying about the mistress’ breath isn’t positive, it doesn’t make it seem
that bad.
Lines 5-8: A man who has a mistress. To his mistress? Friend? God? Himself?

Quatrain 3: EFEF
Vocabulary: Grant= to admit to something, Goddess= a female deity who is adored for her beauty,
Treads= to walk by pressing down into the ground or surface with feet
Lines 9-12: He compliments the mistress by stating that he loves to hear her speak and also admits that
he cannot compare the mistress to a goddess because he hasn’t seen one.
Line 11: Alliteration in repetition of the G sound in “grant,” goddess,” and “go.” The repetition
emphasizes the idea of a goddess walking and how he is admitting that he doesn’t know how she walks.
Lines 9-12: Her voice isn’t as pleasing as music and she doesn't float along as she walks.

Couplet: GG
Vocabulary: Belied: fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict
Line 13: The shift occurs with the word “Yet”
Lines 13-14: Simile, Tenor= mistress, Vehicle= any woman who was ever falsely represented (“belied”)
by an exaggerated comparison (“false compare”).

Subject: Love, idealized love

Speaker: We don’t know any personal details about the speaker, but it someone who has a mistress.

Tone: Mocking, Sarcastic

Theme: “Love looks not with the eye, but with the mind,” Beauty is more than skin deep, imperfection is
perfection
 Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

Maybe he only has “problems” with her physical appearance? Her personality is already perfect?

Answers may vary

Answers may vary, but it wouldn’t have the same effect. Chances are the reader or listener would tune
out after getting the initial point and wouldn’t listen to “criticisms.” The shock value of the last two lines
would be lost.